Wildfires in South Korea claim 18 lives, destroy 7th century temple

Wildfires in South Korea claim 18 lives, destroy 7th century temple
Wildfires in South Korea claim 18 lives, destroy 7th century temple 

South Korea has been facing one of its worst wildfires, that are wreaking havoc throughout the country's southern regions.

As reported by Associated Press, on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, it was confirmed that so far the fire has killed 18 people, and have caused notable damage to several buildings.

A 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple, factories, houses, and vehicles became part of the fire that engulfed around 43,330 acres and injured 19 people.

South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo referred to the wildfires as the one of the worst as he noted, "Damages are snowballing, there are concerns that we'll have wildfire damages that we've never experienced, so we have to concentrate all our capabilities to put out the wildfires in the rest of this week."

Related: Japan's biggest wildfire in decades claims 1 life displaces thousands

Due to strong winds, the first responders were having a hard time controlling the wildfires, which started last Friday, March 21, 2025,

Around 4,650 firefighters, soldiers were deployed to extinguish the fire with the help of about 130 helicopters.

The largest fires were in Andong, the neighbouring counties of Uiseing and Sancheong, and the city of Ulsan, whose residents were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday, March 24, 2025.

Related: Sinkhole claims life of motorcyclist in South Korea

Notably, the fire were almost extinguished but the strong winds and dry conditions overnight caused the blazes to spread again.

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